


betwixt and between

by lovesthesoundof



Series: Diamond Games [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 22:37:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20514638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesthesoundof/pseuds/lovesthesoundof
Summary: Blue and Spinel, between games. Beware movie spoilers.





	betwixt and between

She remembers when she used to be tireless. With Pink (ssh, no tears) she had boundless energy, never lost her drive for the next game, but now it's a relief when Yellow responds to White's latest careless boast by clenching her fist and slapping a deck of cards on the table. Spinel doesn't need Blue's whispered _best we leave them to it, this could take a while_ \- she knows every game Homeworld has ever invented, and those cards leave room for only two players. It's a relief to settle into the offered palm and allow herself to be carried away. It's even more of a relief that when she declines to play a different game, Blue neither pushes nor seems hurt by her refusal. She just looks concerned, strokes Spinel's hair with a gentle fingertip.

When was the last time someone worried about her? Has anyone **ever**?

"Who knew doing nothing for six thousand years could take so much out of you?" she jokes weakly, putting on a smile that feels too brittle to convince.

Blue gives a soft laugh, but her eyes are knowing. Spinel can see herself reflected in them, the shape of her own pain magnified.

They settle on the other side of the room, near enough to watch but far enough to be out of the way. There's a window here, open to the starry night. Spinel climbs into the loop of Blue's hair and watches it ruffle around her in the breeze. Everything is softer here. Muffled. Warm.

She doesn't know how long it is before Blue speaks. "Sometimes I need to slow down, too."

"It's what you were made for, isn't it?" She's a couple of feet from Blue's gem, but it doesn't seem right to touch it. Not yet.

"That's right. To mediate, to deliberate...to govern... Not that I do much of any of those any more."

There's a touch of melancholy in her voice that Spinel has heard only a few times before. It never comes out around Yellow and White. Perhaps Blue doesn't think they'll understand - or perhaps she fears they'll respond to it too sharply. Spinel nestles further into her hair. "I guess we're both different now."

"I think you are. I'm not sure about me." Another gentle stroke. Spinel leans into the touch, waiting patiently for Blue to continue. "I think...the trouble is that I'm **not** different. My whole life has changed and I'm still the same."

"You don't fit," Spinel says without thinking, and immediately winces. "Sorry, that was - "

"No, you're right. None of us Diamonds do. Look at us - we've nothing to do any more." Across the room, White smacks down a card with a triumphant "ha!"; Yellow makes a noise of frustration. "It's nice to play, but...we were meant for more than just games." A beat; an apologetic caress. "Sorry, I didn't - "

Spinel strokes the retreating finger. "I know. You're right, though. You need something **bigger**. Maybe I do too, now." She laughs shortly, bitterly. "Wow. Check out **these** delusions of grandeur."

By contrast, Blue's answering chuckle is warm and genuine. "I think it'd suit you. Something daring and heroic, maybe."

Blue thinks she's heroic? Spinel puffs up a little with pride. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that. And maybe a little sneaky."

"Outplaying your enemies? Hahah - you'd make fools of them all."

"I would!" She did. Not that she's allowed to be proud of that. Somewhat deflated, she lies back with a sigh. "If only heroes were still important, huh?"

Blue sighs too, leans back against the wall. Spinel isn't sure she'll ever get over how it feels to be near someone so vast, like she's talking to the world as it moves beneath her. "Nothing's ever perfect. There are always new problems to solve. I think we just need to...find the right ones for us."

"Find the right space to fit into," Spinel answers distantly. She could swear she just saw a tiny spark of light in the depths of Blue's gem. She could swear she just felt one in her own.

"Are you comfy in that space?"

_"How about...THIS?"_

_"Oh you little SNEAK, you had that in your hand the WHOLE TIME - "_

_"Ahahahaha!"_

Spinel finds herself smiling. For the first time in millennia, it reaches her eyes. "Yeah," she says quietly, and pulls a lock of Blue's hair over herself like a blanket. "I am."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Yellow and White are absolutely playing Gwent.


End file.
